canvas

1 of 2

noun

can·​vas ˈkan-vəs 

variants or less commonly canvass

plural canvases also canvasses

1

: a firm closely woven cloth usually of linen, hemp, or cotton used for clothing and formerly much used for tents and sails

2

a

: a piece of cloth backed or framed as a surface for a painting

an artist's canvas

also : the painting on such a surface

b

: something likened to a painter's canvas

… just up the driveway is an extraordinary piece of garden design. [Ruth] Bancroft is the artist and her canvas is a three-acre patch of land in the midst of suburbia.

—Harriet Chiang

In addition to the cover-up work, [Miryam] Lumpini will turn the dimpled canvas of a young man's back into a magnificent phoenix.

—Allure

The birds were moving art on a canvas of sky and water and endless prairie.

—Shannon Tompkins

c

: the background, setting, or scope of a historical or fictional account or narrative

the crowded canvas of history

3

: a piece of canvas used for a particular purpose

a hammock made of canvas

4

: tent

also : a group of tents

5

: a set of sails : sail

sailing under full canvas

6

: a stiff material (as of coarse cloth or plastic) that has regular meshes for working with a needle (as in needlepoint)

7

: the canvas-covered floor of a boxing or wrestling ring

canvaslike

ˈkan-vəs-ˌlīk 

adjective

canvas

2 of 2

verb

canvased or canvassed; canvasing or canvassing

transitive verb

: to cover, line, or furnish with canvas

Synonyms

Noun

• oil
• oil painting
• painting

Examples of canvas in a Sentence

Noun

a tent made of canvas

Use a canvas to cover the boat.

The museum has several canvases by Rubens.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

For the opening of Salon 94’s sprawling new headquarters, Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn chose to feature Adams’ latest monumental canvases of strikingly colorful portraits for the inaugural exhibition. —Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024

The chicken is tender and juicy, a blank canvas for a few meals.. —Alex Beggs, Bon Appétit, 12 Dec. 2024

Verb

Police are canvasing for surveillance video, sources said. —Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 4 Dec. 2024

The attack led police to canvas the complex and learn that the son of a resident reported a stranger loitering in the parking lot a few days earlier. —Christine Pelisek, People.com, 25 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English canevas, from Anglo-French canevas, chanevaz, from Vulgar Latin *cannabaceus hempen, from Latin cannabis hemp — more at cannabis

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1556, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing canvas

• under canvas

Kids Definition

canvas

noun

can·​vas

ˈkan-vəs

1

a

: a strong cloth of hemp, flax, or cotton used for clothing and formerly much used for tents and sails

b

: a piece of cloth used as a surface for painting

also : a painting on such a surface

2

: something made of canvas

3

: a stiff material (as of coarse cloth or plastic) that has regular meshes for working with a needle (as in needlepoint)